©Blood of Sephiroth
Chapter Seven: Fencing lessons
Ja-ahd Nadzim Gabriel roared up the mountain pass, the heavy Ducati shaking under her legs as she held onto the handlebars grimly. The wind had died down, and that weakling, Gabe, had stopped bugging her. Sephiroth had turned off the road, so it looked like he'd given up. And the two who were still following her were finding it difficult climbing the pass with their bikes. Not that it was steep. Just that the ground was loose.
She grinned, an evil grin that showed all her teeth. Soon, Gabriel would be able to bring the Nadzim back to their rightful places as rulers, and she would rule them all, the Ja-ahd, the Mu-kri Nadzim.
Gabriel laughed, a cold laugh that carried down to Zack and Cloud as they finally managed to navigate the pass. She rolled under the grand arch, and her mouth twisted when she saw the ruin her people's great palace had become. And somewhere in there, her father rested.
'I'm coming, J'had.'
Gabriel killed the engine, kicking a skull out of her way as she drew the Masamune twin from the bike and sneered at it. A useful weapon, but not the true weapon of the Angel. She replaced it into the clips, and instead drew her two Ninja swords, the Nadzimun, the Ninjablades.
Gabriel ran into the black, stinking tomb, her smile fading as she heard two engines purr to a halt outside the entrance. She turned and faced the two as they ran in, both swords drawn.
'Gabe!' The one with black hair cried.
'I am Ja-ahd Gabriel. Go from this sacred place, lest your bones rest here with the other unholy souls.'
The one with blond spikes shook his head.
'Angel or no, you've broken SOLDIER rules, Gabe. Or Gabriel, whatever you want to be called.'
Gabriel ground her teeth.
'I said LEAVE!' Dust fell from the ceiling as she shouted at the two desecrating her people's holy place. When they did not move, she flew towards them, her Nadzimun ready to taste their first blood.
'Karae manti kri!'
But something stopped her from using the blades. Try as she might, Gabriel could not kill the other two. So she landed a load of punches and kicks, far worse then anything Gabe had done, until the two collapsed onto the floor, a bloody mess of bruises. Not dead, but she could finish them later.
Gabriel carried on walking into the lower depths, the smell of death all around her. She finally stopped in the doorway of a small room, bathed in light from the luminous fungi growing on the walls, where she knew her father's bones rested in the small but significant stone coffin in the middle.
Her attention wasn't taken by that, however. There was someone else in the room.
They had their back to her, silver hair flowing down their back, a long samurai sword in their hand. The person was wearing black, a black cape fastened to the shoulders by shoulder guards. Gabriel's mouth twitched as the person turned slowly, having been studying the inscription on the casket.
'Hello, Gabriel.' Sephiroth greeted her calmly, his expression amiable despite the sword in his hand. Gabriel growled, her Nadzimun coming up as she rushed him.
'I don't think so.' Sephiroth said from the side, where he'd dodged to, and he whipped his sword across her blades, flicking them out of her reach. Gabriel spun away, pulling out her Masamune.
'You cannot hurt me. The prophecy is clear on that point.' Gabriel taunted. Sephiroth didn't answer, just circled her, his sword lowered, his expression unreadable.
'I know. I must have read it too often.'
Gabriel glanced at the casket.
'Oh, and I read the inscription.'
The Angel's eyes widened. 'You read the language of the Nadzim? Impudent dog! You have desecrated my father's grave!'
Gabriel ran towards Sephiroth in a blind fury of movement, her sword meeting his with a clash and a shower of sparks. She kept on attacking him, trying to get through his barrier, her fury building as Sephiroth refused to attack.
'Attack!' She cried, almost knocking him off balance with a low swing of her sword. 'Damn you, Sephiroth, attack!'
Sephiroth smiled slightly. He started to return the blows that Gabriel had been inflicting on him, the two travelling around the tomb. Gabriel blocked and feinted, parried and attacked, jumped over Sephiroth's lunges, spun, dodged, and used every sword fighting trick she knew, and still Sephiroth refused to be killed. Gabriel finally managed to wear the General down enough to break through his defences, flicking her wrist and smacking the sword out of his hand, where it landed in the top of the casket, the sword shuddering as it stuck in point first. Gabriel smiled and kicked Sephiroth's legs out from under him, making him fall to his knees.
'The first mortal to bow.'
Gabriel held the tip of the Masamune twin under his chin, pressing hard enough to cause a thin trickle of blood down Sephiroth's neck. She walked around him, the tip of the sword never leaving his neck.
Sephiroth wasn't stupid. He knew when he was beaten. And he knew that he wasn't beaten now. Gabe (he still couldn't admit her being Gabriel) was walking around him, the sword he had given her pressed against his neck. Sephiroth stayed on his knees, waiting for the right time before he made his move. Just as it seemed Gabe's attention wandered, he shifted his weight onto one hand, stretching a leg and kicking her legs out from under her in one lightning fast, fluid motion born of long hours training. Her Masamune flew out of her hands and clattered to the floor, well out of her reach, as she fell to the ground. Gabe rolled away, but Sephiroth already caught her, a black-edged knife at her throat. The knife had been hidden in his boot since he was made First Class.
Gabe grinned up at his, a savage smirk that reflected nothing of the kind, confident woman he loved.
'You can't harm me, Sephiroth. Nobody can, save for who Gabe lives for. And that is no-one. She has no family, nothing. She has SOLDIER, but who is she going to find there?'
Resting his knee on Gabe's chest, moving the dagger, and drew the dagger lightly across Gabe's hand. It left a thin trail of blood as it cut the skin. Gabe's eyes widened, looking up into Sephiroth's tear-filled green eyes, eyes that never showed emotion.
'Wrong on both accounts, Gabriel.' A voice drifted from the doorway, tired, monotone. Both Gabe and Sephiroth looked across to see Zack leaning against the doorway, an anxious, bruised Cloud hovering beside him. Cloud had obviously used Cure on the two, but they certainly weren't up to scratch. 'Gabe does have family, and she does have someone in SOLDIER to live for.'
Sephiroth eased off of Gabe, letting her stand up, but holding her hands behind her back and the knife at her throat.
Gabriel snorted. 'If you tell me she cares for the Jacksons, then you are more of an imbecile then I thought.'
Zack shook his head, wincing as a few cuts reopened.
Gabriel had gotten tired with this. No more playing. She didn't need to read the inscription on her father's tomb; she knew the spell already. Gabriel kicked Sephiroth's shins, and spun as his hold on her momentarily lessened. She leapt up on the casket, pulling Sephiroth's Masamune out from the top and cast it aside. She started to say the spell, the wind blowing up again. A white light grew in front of the casket, and millions of voices seemed to join in the intonation of the spell. Cloud ran forward, trying to stop Gabriel, but he was thrown back violently as he reached the white light. He flew into Zack, slamming the two into the wall. Sephiroth glanced at his stunned companions, then looked back at Gabe. She was standing tall on top of the casket, her eyes a fathomless black. Sephiroth could feel the power rolling off her, making the air around him crackle. He hefted the knife, tears flowing down his face as he lifted it, held it by the blade, and threw it....
The world seemed to stop, concentrating on that one instance. The knife hung in the air, pointing to Ja-ahd Gabriel, the black blade breaking the white light into shards. Sephiroth was standing frozen, staring at the woman he loved, who loved him for what he was, who he had known for only a week and yet was captivated. He stared into her eyes, black now, hungering for the bright, mischievous green, the green that told him everything and nothing, that lit up when she laughed....
A million memories seemed to flash by in that one moment, and the world started up again. The deadly knife spun, buried itself into Gabe's chest, cutting off the intonation in mid-sentance. The black faded from her eyes, and black oil seemed to boil out from her, rising like a cloud and disappearing with an unearthly scream. The white light faded, and the voices stopped. Sephiroth ran forward and caught Gabe, the real Gabe, as she dropped, lowering her onto the floor as Zack and Cloud came round. They ran over to their General as he held Gabe's hand in his own. Zack knelt down by his friend, pretending not to notice the tears in his own eyes.
'Hey, Gabe.'
Gabe looked up at him, pain glazing her eyes, and smiled weakly. 'Reporting for duty, sir.'
Sephiroth closed his eyes against the pain, opening them when he felt her hand against his face.
'You did what you needed to do, Seph.' Gabe said. 'And I love you for it.'
Sephiroth couldn't stop crying. Tears poured down his face as he pulled the knife out and cast a cure on the wound so that it didn't bleed so much.
Zack smiled at Gabe. 'Gabe, I meant it when I said you have family. I'm your brother.' He said, springing the surprise on her.
Gabe's eyes widened. 'Seriously? Zack Xavier?'
Zack shrugged, a lop-sided grin on his face despite the tears. 'Illegitimate, but yeah.'
Cloud stood by, watching as his two superiors knelt over Gabe. 'Excuse me, Sephiroth, but can't we Cure her a little and get her out of here? She's losing blood, and a tomb is not the best place to have an open wound like that.'
Sephiroth nodded, getting out his Restore materia. Green energy diffused into Gabe, and Sephiroth picked her up. Gabe clung on to him as he led the way to his big Harley, signalling the others to go back to their bikes and meet him on the road. Sephiroth placed the ex-Ja-ahd into the pillion seat as if she was a china doll. Settling himself in front of her, Sephiroth revved the engine and saw that he had just enough to get him down to the SOLDIER complex back in Midgar.
He looked back over his shoulder, remembering to retrieve his and Gabe's weapons. Then he rolled the bike into the underground road, the opening gaping wide.
/You still with me, Gabe?/ He asked, hearing Gabe gasp.
//....yeah....// Her telepathic voice was faint, drifting, and Sephiroth was seized with terror at the thought of Gabe drifting away from him. He had to exert a conscious effort not to go any faster for fear the fuel wouldn't last. Finally they came out into the daylight, and Sephiroth could see the other two waiting for him.
'SEPHIROTH!!' Zack yelled, raising an arm. Sephiroth gunned the engine, and he swerved onto the road, holding on with one hand as he grabbed Gabe's hand to stop her from slipping as she lost consciousness. Cloud and Zack came and rode on either side, ready to catch Gabe if she fell.